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The Sunlight Foundation was founded in 2006 with the goal of using technology to enable citizens to learn more about what their elected representatives are doing, to help reduce corruption, ensure greater transparency and... [more]
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Justice Department
Feinstein grills Mukasey about closed corruption unit
Written by Paul Blumenthal on March 27, 2008 - 10:00am.
Read more: Jerry Lewis | Justice Department (see all terms)
Read more: Jerry Lewis | Justice Department (see all terms)
Source Name
The Hill
Snippit
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Wednesday called on Attorney General Michael Mukasey to explain the decision to eliminate the public corruption unit in Los Angeles that has been investigating Rep. Jerry Lewis's (R-Calif.) ties to a lobbying firm.
Senate Judiciary Committee Passes Beefed-Up Anti-Corruption Bill
Written by Paul Blumenthal on November 2, 2007 - 10:52am.
Read more: Justice Department | Public Integrity Unit | Senate Judiciary Committee (see all terms)
Read more: Justice Department | Public Integrity Unit | Senate Judiciary Committee (see all terms)
Source Name
Roll Call
Snippit
The Senate Judiciary Committee passed legislation Thursday morning that would strengthen anti-corruption laws and provide $100 million more for corruption investigations over the next four years.
Bill Tackles Public Corruption
Written by Paul Blumenthal on October 25, 2007 - 10:47am.
Read more: Corruption | Federal Investigation | Justice Department (see all terms)
Read more: Corruption | Federal Investigation | Justice Department (see all terms)
Source Name
Roll Call
Snippit
Lawmakers could soon be handing the Justice Department new ammunition in its fight against Congressional corruption. The Senate Judiciary Committee today will mark up a bill that will give federal prosecutors more time and resources to uncover wrongdoing by lawmakers while toughening anti-corruption laws already on the books.
Part of Abramoff Case Sent to Maryland
Written by Paul Blumenthal on October 22, 2007 - 10:11am.
Read more: Jack Abramoff | John Doolittle | Justice Department | Kevin Ring | Robert Coughlin (see all terms)
Read more: Jack Abramoff | John Doolittle | Justice Department | Kevin Ring | Robert Coughlin (see all terms)
Source Name
AP
Snippit
Federal prosecutors in Maryland are handling part of the Jack Abramoff lobbying case because of a possible conflict of interest at Justice Department headquarters, an official with knowledge of the case said Friday.
E-mails: AG aide suggested firing San Diego US prosecutor in 2005
Written by Paul Blumenthal on March 14, 2007 - 9:36am.
Read more: Attorney Purge | Bush Administration | Carol Lam | Duke Cunningham | Justice Department (see all terms)
Read more: Attorney Purge | Bush Administration | Carol Lam | Duke Cunningham | Justice Department (see all terms)
Source Name
AP
Snippit
Long before former U.S. Attorney Carol Lam drew public attention for leading the corruption case against former Republican congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham, she was being noticed by political advisers at the Justice Department—and shortlisted for termination.
Filling the Hole in the Justice Department Doc Dump
Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez claims that mistakes were made, he knew nothing about the actions of his chief of staff, and that he will “assess accountability” at Justice. So far this looks like really poorly orchestrated damage control. That’s the new news. Earlier today the Justice Department released the old news, a document dump of e-mails between Gonzalez’s now ex-chief of staff Kyle Sampson and White House officials including then-White House Counsel Harriet Miers. We know from the Washington Post story, and from McClatchy’s reporting over the weekend, that Sen. Pete Domenici and other New Mexico Republicans were instrumental in getting U.S. Attorney David Iglesias canned. The question is whether this was determined after Iglesias says that Domenici pressured him over indictments.
Written by Paul Blumenthal on March 13, 2007 - 3:39pm.
Read more: Attorney Purge | David Iglesias | Justice Department | Pete Domenici (see all terms)
White House Fired Attorneys; Domenici Got Iglesias Axed
With two stories out today, one from the New York Times and the other from the Washington Post, we learn that everything the Justice Department told Congress was factually-impaired. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez claimed that there was nothing political about the firings, except that the President's Counsel Harriet Miers and the President's chief political operative created the list of Attorney's to axe and Justice was in discussions all along. In the beginning the White House wanted to fire all 93 Attorneys only to scale back this plan when it was deemed by Rove to be politically impossible. (For those paying attention that would have included U.S. Attorney for the District of Illinois (Northern) Patrick Fitzgerald, the guy prosecuting a case against the Vice President's right-hand man.)
Written by Paul Blumenthal on March 13, 2007 - 10:17am.
Read more: Attorney Purge | Bush Administration | Heather Wilson | Justice Department | Pete Domenici (see all terms)
Firings Had Genesis in White House
Written by Paul Blumenthal on March 13, 2007 - 9:06am.
Read more: Attorney Purge | Bush Administration | Justice Department (see all terms)
Read more: Attorney Purge | Bush Administration | Justice Department (see all terms)
Source Name
Washington Post
Snippit
The White House suggested two years ago that the Justice Department fire all 93 U.S. attorneys, a proposal that eventually resulted in the dismissals of eight prosecutors last year, according to e-mails and internal documents that the administration will provide to Congress today.
Subpoenas Likely for Justice Officials in Prosecutor Firings
Written by Paul Blumenthal on March 8, 2007 - 11:15am.
Read more: Attorney Purge | Justice Department (see all terms)
Read more: Attorney Purge | Justice Department (see all terms)
Source Name
Washington Post
Snippit
Senate Democrats said yesterday they are preparing to subpoena five senior Justice Department officials as part of a widening probe into whether eight U.S. attorneys were fired for political reasons.
Two N.M. Lawmakers May Have Pressed Attorney Purge
Back at the beginning of the year the Justice Department announced that it was replacing seven U.S. Attorneys in an unprecedented move. The Attorney ‘purge’ was able to take place due to a provision allowing the Justice Department to unilaterally replace U.S. Attorneys for any reason that was snuck into the PATRIOT Act reauthorization by Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA). McClatchy Newspapers reports today that one of those Attorneys, David Iglesias, U.S. Attorney from New Mexico, was pressured by Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM) and Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) to bring down indictments on local Democratic officials prior to the 2006 midterm election. Iglesias refused and has since been purged by the Justice Department. If Wilson and Domenici did attempt to pressure a sitting U.S. Attorney for the political benefit of the oft-endangered Wilson it would be a serious ethical violation.
Written by Paul Blumenthal on March 2, 2007 - 2:07pm.
Read more: Attorney Purge | Brent Wilkes | Carol Lam | David Iglesias | Duke Cunningham | Heather Wilson | Justice Department | K. Dusty Foggo | Pete Domenici (see all terms)
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Congressional Web Site Investigation:Employing citizen oversight to find out if we are getting our money’s worth from congressional Web sites.
Today's Ethics Watch
Seats of Power: A Return to Skybox Lobbying?: Not long ago, lobbyists regularly entertained lawmakers and their aides in skyboxes at local sports arenas. But after a series of scandals on Capitol Hill, the law was changed to forbid congressional officials from accepting anything of value from lobbyists without repayment -- let alone the best seats in the house. (Washington Post)
Companies Start to Lift Veil on Political Spending: Ever wonder how much companies really spend to influence government through trade associations? Well, a few corporations are coming clean, or at least cleaner. (Washington Post)
Dems, GOP together nix Murtha earmark: Democrats and Republicans joined together to strip a pet project of Rep. John Murtha’s (D-Pa.) from the 2009 intelligence authorization bill — the same project Democrats defended last year. (The Hill)
NAPA launches collaboration Web site: If you’ve ever wished your federal agency could adopt wikis, use YouTube or delve into the virtual world but feared the security, technology and political barriers were too high to overcome, take heart. You’ve got supporters, and they have success stories. (NextGov)
Jefferson lawyers cite race case in change of venue request: Rep. William Jefferson’s (D-La.) lawyers have asked a federal judge to reconsider a ruling denying a change of venue for his corruption trial. (The Hill)
Jefferson Tries New Argument: Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) has asked a federal court to use an international criminal law treaty to force the depositions of three people in Nigeria who have been implicated in corruption charges levied against him. (Roll Call)
Foreign Gifts Test Rules: Even as new ethics restrictions have made it difficult for Members and staff to accept gifts — aside from token baseball caps or T-shirts — one area remains where lawmakers and their staffs can collect trinkets more or less guilt-free: foreign travel. (Roll Call)
K St.’s ‘Max Out’ Crowd: The 20 top K Street donors this election cycle have handed federal candidates nearly $1.8 million in personal cash. The majority of that money, $1.3 million, has gone to help Democrats as the party in charge of Capitol Hill looks to expand its majority. (Roll Call)
Senator’s Ties to Real Estate Draw Criticism: He has made millions as a title insurance executive, landlord and real estate developer in this college town, where the economy, despite trouble nationwide, is still growing nicely. Now, as a United States senator, with the mortgage mess fueling a national economic slowdown, Richard C. Shelby has more say over the revamping of housing finance laws than almost anyone else in Congress. (New York Times)
Oil Lobby Reaches Out to Citizens Peeved at the Pump: Faced with a national outcry over the high price of gasoline and soaring profits for energy companies, the oil and gas industry is waging an unusually pricey campaign to burnish its image. (Washington Post)
Lawmakers Accused of Flouting Rules on Use of Staff: Democratic Reps. Jane Harman and Neil Abercrombie spent more than $2 million on their 2006 reelection campaigns but paid only $5,000 to campaign workers, according to campaign finance reports. (Washington Post)
[ More in the Archive ]
Companies Start to Lift Veil on Political Spending: Ever wonder how much companies really spend to influence government through trade associations? Well, a few corporations are coming clean, or at least cleaner. (Washington Post)
Dems, GOP together nix Murtha earmark: Democrats and Republicans joined together to strip a pet project of Rep. John Murtha’s (D-Pa.) from the 2009 intelligence authorization bill — the same project Democrats defended last year. (The Hill)
NAPA launches collaboration Web site: If you’ve ever wished your federal agency could adopt wikis, use YouTube or delve into the virtual world but feared the security, technology and political barriers were too high to overcome, take heart. You’ve got supporters, and they have success stories. (NextGov)
Jefferson lawyers cite race case in change of venue request: Rep. William Jefferson’s (D-La.) lawyers have asked a federal judge to reconsider a ruling denying a change of venue for his corruption trial. (The Hill)
Jefferson Tries New Argument: Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) has asked a federal court to use an international criminal law treaty to force the depositions of three people in Nigeria who have been implicated in corruption charges levied against him. (Roll Call)
Foreign Gifts Test Rules: Even as new ethics restrictions have made it difficult for Members and staff to accept gifts — aside from token baseball caps or T-shirts — one area remains where lawmakers and their staffs can collect trinkets more or less guilt-free: foreign travel. (Roll Call)
K St.’s ‘Max Out’ Crowd: The 20 top K Street donors this election cycle have handed federal candidates nearly $1.8 million in personal cash. The majority of that money, $1.3 million, has gone to help Democrats as the party in charge of Capitol Hill looks to expand its majority. (Roll Call)
Senator’s Ties to Real Estate Draw Criticism: He has made millions as a title insurance executive, landlord and real estate developer in this college town, where the economy, despite trouble nationwide, is still growing nicely. Now, as a United States senator, with the mortgage mess fueling a national economic slowdown, Richard C. Shelby has more say over the revamping of housing finance laws than almost anyone else in Congress. (New York Times)
Oil Lobby Reaches Out to Citizens Peeved at the Pump: Faced with a national outcry over the high price of gasoline and soaring profits for energy companies, the oil and gas industry is waging an unusually pricey campaign to burnish its image. (Washington Post)
Lawmakers Accused of Flouting Rules on Use of Staff: Democratic Reps. Jane Harman and Neil Abercrombie spent more than $2 million on their 2006 reelection campaigns but paid only $5,000 to campaign workers, according to campaign finance reports. (Washington Post)
[ More in the Archive ]